Oslo, Norway-based risk management and assurance certification body DNV recently entered into an agreement to acquire Bergen, Norway-based data specialist company AquaCloud, according to a release by DNV.
Kyst.no reported that Aquacloud filed for bankruptcy, saying in a press release that there is “no longer funding for continued operations,” and it lacks “the necessary support from the aquaculture industry to realize the plans that were in place.” Kyst.no reported that AquaCloud previously developed tools and insights related to fish health, such as lice coordination, data standardization, and a modern data platform. The company has partnered with the Fisheries and Aquaculture Industry Research Fund (FHF), aquaculture stakeholders, Innovation Norway, and central research environments.
“The aquaculture industry is facing increasingly complex biological and regulatory challenges, from changes in water temperature and algal blooms to jellyfish and disease,” DNV Director of Aquaculture and Ocean Health Thomas Vogth-Eriksen said. “At the same time, new technology creates significant opportunities. To respond effectively, the industry needs a common, trusted foundation for sharing and using data, allowing decisions to be based on a broader and more representative knowledge base.”
DNV said the acquisition of Aquacloud will aid the development of shared data standards, infrastructure, and decision support to improve fish welfare and operational efficiency. The Norwegian risk management certification body said in the release that better data will allow companies to see which biological and environmental conditions are most suitable in aquaculture.
“For participants to benefit from improved insight, benchmarking and cross-company learning, the data foundation must represent a substantial share of production,” DNV Head of Digital and Innovation, Aquaculture, and Ocean Health Trude Steinbru Heggstad said. “Our focus will therefore be on broad industry engagement, secure data sharing, and open dialogue, so that companies can participate with confidence and retain full control of their own data.”
Under DNV ownership, AquaCloud will be managed by DNV’s cloud platform, Veracity, which is a software that helps securely handle and share data with stakeholders. It’s used by nearly 11,000 vessels in shipping companies for secure data management, regulatory reporting, and verified operational data, the company said in the release.
“Shared data standards must be supported by an infrastructure that ensures quality, traceability and long-term trust,” DNV Director of Veracity Mikkel Skou said. “Veracity provides this foundation, enabling secure data sharing while ensuring that data owners retain full control over how their data is used.”
